Damascus, Feb 28
 The Islamic State (IS) militant group, so far, has not executed any of the Christian Assyrians it had abducted in Syria, a group monitoring war in Syria said Friday.

Tribal leaders in Syrian province of al-Hasakah met Christian clergymen to mediate the release of around 220 kidnapped Assyrians, Xinhua quoted Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) as saying.

The IS kidnapped the Assyrians from 11 villages in the town of Tal Tamr, considered the capital of the Syrian Assyrians in al-Hasakah.

Assyrian leaders also informed the SOHR about the ongoing efforts for the release of the abductees, saying that so far the IS has not executed any of the Assyrians. It said, however, that a court of the IS would soon give its verdict.

Earlier Friday, the Syrian foreign ministry condemned the IS attack on Assyrian areas in al-Hasakah, saying the IS unleashed attacks on tens of predominantly Assyrian villages and many towns in the countryside of the province, killing several people and kidnapping around 200 civilians.

Over 690 families were also displaced in the IS attack, not to mention the desecration of places of worship, including churches, by the militants, a media report quoted the ministry as saying.

Syria condemns IS attack on Christians

Syria's foreign ministry Friday condemned the Sunni radical group Islamic State (IS) for carrying out attacks on the Christian Assyrian community in northeastern part of the country, Xinhua reported citing Syrian state news agency SANA.

The ministry, in letters sent to the UN, pinpointed the "terrorist acts" of the IS group against the Assyrian community, according to the report.

It said that IS unleashed attacks on tens of predominantly Assyrian villages, including Tal Hurmoz, Tal Shamiram, Tal Rumman, Tal Nasra and many towns in the countryside of the northeastern al-Hasakah province, killing several people and kidnapping around 200 civilians.

Over 690 families were also displaced in the IS attack, not to mention the desecration of places of worship, including churches by the militants, the ministry added.

It said the burnt church of Tal Hurmoz was one of the most ancient churches in Syria and the world.

The ministry noted that the IS attacks added to the series of "crimes" by terrorist groups, which often target religious places, holy shrines and ancient cemeteries.

"Those crimes would not have been done if it wasn't for the ongoing and direct support the terrorist groups are receiving from well-known countries," the ministry said.

The ministry urged the international community to shoulder its responsibilities in fighting terrorism and radical groups through coordination with the Syrian government and "honest" implementation of UN anti-terror resolutions.

The ministry said the Syrian government was ready to cooperate with "honest and true" parties on countering terrorism.

The number of Assyrian Christians kidnapped by IS in northern Syria has risen to 220 since Tuesday, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a group monitoring the war in Syria, said Thursday.

It said Friday that IS, so far, has not executed any of the Christian Assyrians it had abducted in Syria.